As Bartlet delivers his third State of the Union address to the United States, which Toby helped carefully craft, Bartlet ends up upsetting Abbey with what he doesn't say. Josh's tracking of public opinion polls is delayed by both a power outage and the news that five DEA officials have been taken hostage by a group of Colombian terrorists. Meanwhile, C.J. prepares for a live recording of "Capitol Beat" all while doing damage control when it is uncovered that a police officer Bartlet cited for heroism was once accused of brutally attacking a black suspect.

Josh: Where the hell have you been?Joey: My plane had mechanical difficulties.Josh: This is the State of the Union. There was nothing you could do about it?Joey: No, because as a child I never paid attention during airplane mechanics class.